Mumbai: Indian benchmark equity indices snapped their three-day losing streak on Thursday, supported by gains in banking and financial stocks even as persistent volatility in oil prices kept investors cautious.
The Sensex rose 138.36 points, or 0.19 per cent, to settle at 74,902.59, while the Nifty gained 46.30 points, or 0.20 per cent, to close at 23,477.80.
Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the on the technical front, the Nifty continues to trade below its key daily moving averages, keeping the near-term structure under pressure.
“Immediate support is placed at 23,400, followed by 23,300, while the 23,550-23,600 zone remains the first meaningful resistance,” market watchers said.
Among the Nifty constituents, HDFC Life Insurance Company, Power Grid Corporation of India and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) emerged as the top gainers.
In the broader market, however, the trend remained subdued. The Nifty MidCap index declined 0.38 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index ended 0.07 per cent lower.
Sectorally, financial stocks led the gains, with Nifty Financial Services, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Private Bank emerging as the best-performing indices. On the other hand, Nifty Auto and Nifty Metal were among the key sectoral laggards.
Experts said that the market’s recovery came despite continued fluctuations in crude oil prices, with investors closely tracking developments in the oil market and their potential impact on domestic inflation and corporate earnings.
“Consequently, the domestic market endured a choppy session on expiry day amid weak Asian cues, as investor focus remained closely tethered to the volatility in crude prices,” analysts stated.
“Although the strong August equity fund flow data and the moderation in the SIP stoppage ratio lent support to the markets, sentiment was tempered by the depreciating rupee and firming domestic bond yields,” market watchers mentioned.
(IANS)
